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How the Bafta stars get their red carpet look

-Feb 10, Caroline Blight, Beauty -

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With award season in full swing, this week it’s the Brits’ turn on the red carpet to strut their stuff and make us all feel a little more pasty than we already do! But we can steal a little of their magic for every day life too because, believe it or not, that superstar sparkle does not come naturally. Most of those gorgeous ladies did not wake up like that and have been prepping and preening for some time before stepping out of their limo.

Good skin is the basis

Making sure the skin is in tip top condition is a priority for the stars who know this is a big night for them. For months they have been making sure their diet helps nourish their skin from the inside, something Lumity supplements help with.

Then it comes to making sure the harsh effects of winter have as little impact on that fab foundation as possible. “It is vital to make sure you are keeping the skin hydrated every day by drinking plenty of water and using an anti-oxidant packed serum followed by moisturiser, morning and evening,” advises medical aesthetic practitioner Dr Rita Rakus. “You also need to make sure you’re maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so keep to a nutritious diet, exercise regularly and avoid alcohol.” Lumity Skin Nutrients facial oil is the perfect product to deeply moisturise your skin, leaving it looking radiant all the time and the perfect base for make up. Massage in for a full minute if you want to use it like an at home spa treatment.

A couple of days before taking to the red carpet many of the stars will be booked in for a last minute ‘glow’ inducing peel. It’s important that it’s not too harsh, leaving the skin blotchy or red, but enough to increase radiance. “If you’re looking for a last minute treatment to give you a glow, try a facial which combines glycolic acid with retinol to resurface the skin and encourage cell renewal, acting like a mild peel,” advises Dr Rakus. “This means you can achieve glowing, healthy skin for the big day without the risk of having anything to invasive”.

Just before their makeup is applied most celebs will be most likely be found under a sheet mask! “Sheet masks give intense moisture and hydration and are a fantastic product to apply to the skin before your makeup,” says beauty expert Jess Constanti. “You will find some celebs will use a sheet mask every day a week before the event to get their skin radiant and smooth, perfect to have base foundation glide onto the skin and not settle into any dry areas.”

And making sure that the glow shines through can be done with a makeup artists secret tip: “First I will prep the skin and place a shine controlling primer in only the T zone area, while a richer cream will moisturise the perimeter of the face,” explains makeup artist to the stars Pati DuBroff. “The center of the face will stay matte, while the rest of the skin will look glowy and natural, not like a mask of foundation.”

They use more makeup than you think

That natural look is far from natural. When it comes to get a red carpet face you are going to need hours and a lot of products. But layering means that no matter what angle the ladies are photographed from they will look flawless and, ironically, natural!

While primers, foundations and concealers provide the perfect base, powder will set the look. The secret to making this all appear as natural as possible is making sure the powder doesn’t look too dry and matte. “I finish every look by lightly dusting just the center of the face with translucent powder and then dabbing the cheekbones and brow bones with a beauty blender sponge I dampen with orange blossom or rose water,” says red carpet favourite Rachel Goodwin. “Skin should look vital and radiant, never covered up or too done.”

The
eyes are everything

Making sure all eyes are on them is essential when the celebs walk up that Bafta red carpet. Eyelash extensions and fake eyelashes are the norm and making them look like their ‘real’ lashes is easy when you know how: “Apply individual eyelashes on the top outer corners,” recommends makeup guru Agostina Lombardo. “First, draw a thin line with a black or dark brown eye pencil along the top of your lashes. Then, using a brush or Q-tip, smudge the pencil into the lash line — this will help hide the fake lashes. Curl your eyelashes and apply mascara. With a pair of tweezers, remove the individual lashes from the packaging, lean your head back so you can better see where to place the lashes. Apply individual lashes along the lash line using the tweezers. When the lash glue is dry, apply another coat of mascara.”

If you want thicker lashes
then try this red carpet trick: apply one coat of mascara and let it set, then
dip your finger in any type of light translucent face powder and blink the
powder onto each eyelash and let it set for a moment. Apply a second coat of
mascara, removing any clumps. Voila, your will be left with much fuller lashes.

The perfect pout

Straight after the
eyes it’s the lips which grab the public attention. Dr
Rakus says many of those pouts will have been perfected with a needle in the
run up to awards season and even those which appear natural are likely to have
had a little help. “If you’re opting for filler, a natural, subtle effect is
always best to start with, as this can be built upon if you so desire,” says
advises. Jeanie Mangan is a TV makeup artist and says the biggest challenge is
always making sure that the lipstick lasts. She says the secret is simply not
to use lipstick!

“Lipstick tends to gather in the corners of the mouth and can bleed into the fine lines that border the lips,” she explains. “I use lip liner and lip gloss, but never lipstick.” Jeanie does this by outlining clean, dry lips with a coloured lip liner then fill in the entire lip area with the same liner. Next, lip gloss in a similar colour to the lip liner is applied to the middle but not all the way to the edge of the lips.

Highlight all over!

When it comes to
makeup up it’s not just your face which needs a touch up. Body makeup is perfect
for evening out fake tan and making the skin look healthy and glowing.
Highlighter can then be used to make limbs look longer and slimmer. “Applying
the highlight to the collar bones, tops of shoulders, down the middle of the
upper arm and forearm will make the arms look leaner,” explains Jess. “Adding
some more to the front of the legs will also give the illusion of longer pins
too.”

And of course highlighter is
essential for sculpting the face too as celeb makeup artists to Hollywood
A-listers, Patrick Ta, explains. “I like to
apply highlighter to the highest, flattest point on your face, “If you
apply it right on to the flattest point of the cheekbone, when you turn to the
side or if you’re walking down the street and the sun hits you, it’s the
best.”